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CHAIRMAN REGMI, GACHEDHAR TALKS

Kathmandu, 8 July; Chairman Khil Raj Regmi is holding discussions Monday with  MJFL Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachedharm who also is holding the rotating chairmanship of the HLPM

The talks are being held as CPN Maoist is announcing a talks team to hold talks on its five preconditions to participate in the 19 November assembly elections.

The HLPM has agreed to meet one CPN Maoist condition- a roundtable conference while rejecting other demands.

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CONSTITUENCY DELIENATING COMMISSION MEETING GOVT. SECRETARIES MONDAY

Kathmandu, 8 July: A five-member co9stituency delineation commission is holding discussions with government secretaries s seeking their suggestions for electoral constituencies for the 19 November constituent assembly elections.

The commission held discussions  Sunday with members of civil society and representatives of organizations.

The commission will start drafting its suggestions Tuesday.

The commission will complete its work to seek suggestions from

organizations and individuals Monday to draft its suggestions to delineate 240 constituencies.

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BAMDEV GAUTAM CONTESTING FROM TWO CONSTOTUENCIES.

Kathmandu, 8 July: UML Vice-chairman Bamdev Gautam said Sunday he will contest from Bardiya and Pyuthan.

A constituency is Bardiya is his regular electoral base ion the far-West

district.

A Maoist candidate defeated the top UML leader from the constituency.

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VVIPS, MINISTERS HAVEN’T PAID THEIR DUES TO NEPAL ARMY

Kathmandu, 8 July; VVIPs, ministers, ministries and various organizations

haven’t settled their dues amoountint to more than Rs.70 million of Nepal Army for using their helicopters,  Surendra Paudel writes in Nagarik.

The helicopters were used for personal work.

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POLL SECURITY PLAN PEPARED

Kathmandu, 8 July: Renewing its committed to make the CA elections announced for November 19 free and fair, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has prepared a detailed security plan, Anil Giri writes in The Kathmandu Post..
The plan, prepared after receiving suggestions and feedback from the three security agencies and the Elections Commission, contains the whole gamut of security arrangements, which will come into effect immediately after candidates start filing their nominations.
Besides Nepal Army and Armed Police Force personnel, according to the plan, around 70,000 temporary personnel needs to be hired to hold the polls. It calls for recruitment of Myadi (temporary police personnel) to that effect, said a senior MoHA official requesting anonymity. The Nepal Police is strongly pitching for hiring police and military retirees as Myadi.
The plan has an additional provision to deal with the disgruntled political forces like the CPN-Maoist and some armed outfits operating in the Tarai. “Although the government is holding talks with Baidya and some armed outfits in the Tarai have recently united to thwart the polls, we have prepared a separate plan to deal with them. How preparations are being made to deal with the disgruntled factions cannot be disclosed now as the government and the parties are holding talks with Baidya and others,” said the senior MoHA official.
The MoHA is planning to deploy around 54,000 Nepal Police personnel—around 80 percent of the existing strength [67,181]—during the elections. The remaining 20 percent personnel will remain at various police units for regular duties. The Armed Police Force is planning to mobilise over 22,000 personnel.
While the Elections Commission is against hiring Myadi police personnel, government officials say this is the only alternative left.
“Based on the security plan implemented in the 2008 elections, we prepared the new one. The situation is the same even now be it the number of constituencies and polling booths, security related hiccups or others,” said an official involved in drafting the plan on condition of anonymity.
The MoHA is also scanning the ground level situation in the Tarai where armed outfits are operating and is mulling over implementing two security plans before and during polls. Once the political situation is clear, the authorities can execute plans like demarcating districts in several categories such as highly sensitive, sensitive and normal from a security point of view.
The ministry believes that the Mohan Baidya-led party will come on board the poll process at last. “The recently concluded meeting of the party in Pokhara could be a turning point. As the Baidya party keeps changing its strategy, we have to come up with a new security plan, which is in the evolving process now and it will be amended time and again,” said the official.
In the 2008 CA elections, out of the total 9,824 polling stations, 1,635 were categorised as highly sensitive and 3,556 as sensitive.
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NC STUDENTS SEEK TICKETS FOR ELECTIONS:
Kathmandu, 8 July: As the Nepal Student Union (NSU) general convention approaches, leaders of the Nepali Congress’ student wing have started lobbying the party leadership to secure their candidacies in key posts, BInod Ghimere writes in The Kathmandu Post..
The NSU convention scheduled for September 12-14 had been deferred for a long time due a tussle between leaders close to the NC establishment faction led by President Sushil Koirala and others loyal to senior Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba.
An NSU source said former vice-chairmen of the union, Basu Koirala, Pramod Hari Guragain and Manoj Mani Acharya, and former General Secretary Bhupendra Jung Shahi from the establishment camp have been lobbying hard to secure tickets for the union’s new president’s post from the establishment faction. Similarly, former NSU Vice-chairman Nain Singh Mahar and former General Secretary Jit Jung Basnet from the Deuba faction, too, have been eyeing the same post.
All the president hopefuls have been visiting their districts and campuses to woo voters. Though over half a dozens are in the race for the top NSU post, union insiders claim that Acharya from the Koirala camp and Mahar from the Deuba faction have been tipped as ticket winners.
The NSU statute says the convention shall be held every two years. The NC, however, had failed to organise the convention ever since the two parties led by Girija Prasad Koirala and Deuba merged seven years ago. The meet was postponed twice on April 19 last year and on January 17.
The main agenda of all the president hopefuls is to strengthen the NSU’s position among students by uniting all leaders. “The NSU has been passive due to lack of an elected leadership. The new leadership will re-energise the union,” said Mahar.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“This [200 cases not dears as judges attended a seminar instead of conducting hearing]

 is a serious negligence on the part of the judges.”

(Supreme Court Deputy Registrar Baburam Dahal, The Himalayan Times, 7 July)

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